RISE OF THE MARTIAL GOD

Soon the sweet aroma of cooked soup filled the forest air, and Anthony's stomach rumbled. But he didn't dare to show his hunger to avoid coming off as insensitive. The sniffles from Miao Miao were getting annoying, but he could understand her. He was certain he looked as pathetic when he discovered his wife's betrayal, the very same incident that set all these adventures in motion, dragging him to his destined path.

Anthony sighed and stood up, making his way to Miao Miao. He removed the blanket covering his shoulders and draped them around the crying one.

"Miao Miao, if you keep this up, you will develop a fever."

"I don't care, I just can't take it." She muttered, crying harder.

"If you cry again, I will kick you out. Your cries will attract wolves here, in addition to the aroma of cooking meat. What's wrong with you? I know you're going through pain, but you're not the only person who has lost a parent. And you're not the first to suffer betrayal. Why do you keep acting like a confused baby? A spineless coward. Instead of carefully strategizing on ways to stay alive and survive, you're here making everyone depressed."

"Young master, this is not the time to be sarcastic, she's in a lot of pain. If you find her cries annoying, maybe, you should take a stroll a bit far away." Xinglan whispered, going to stand between Anthony and Miao Miao, as if trying to protect her from him.

"I'm in a lot of pain too, just that I never showed it." Anthony whispered, his voice low, barely heard. His words stunned them.

He always came off as an over pampered, arrogant young master, who is carefree, brutally honest, sometimes downright rude. What kind of pain could he possibly have suffered?

"You must have suffered a bit. But, you can never understand my heart and how much I'm burning inside." Miao Miao whispered, rubbing her chest which was very tight from the pain.

"I understand. The reason you're broken isn't because the village was raided, and your fathers killed. What truly hurt you was the people who did it. You can't accept that Chu Lan was among the organizers who planned to rob your dad's caravan, kill him and come for the treasures at home. Nor could you believe that your A'Jiu would take his side, and it makes you wonder if she was part of the plan all along, coming to eat with you, cook, do chores and help with things around the house." Miao Miao looked at him in surprise. He seemed to understand, something that was truly unexpected of an heir of his caliber.

"You patronize her family's business anytime you need to restock for the manor, despite the fact the nearest depot is a bit far away. But you insist that the servants get it from them. And you wonder if she was the one who poisoned the food, watching you as you nearly got lynched by the angry mob, your reputation in tatters, and watching you panic at your wit's end."

Miao Miao bit her lower lips, her lips were trembling as she tried to hold back the tears. Xinglan was clenching her fists tightly and looking up at the dark sky in her bid to control her emotions. She was the strong one. If she broke down in tears, what would Miao Miao, her charge do?

"She knew how important my father was to me. My mom died when I was five, and since then, I only had dad, and uncle Zhao with me. Yet she killed him, she still killed him. For what? Just to be with her lover and gain enough resources and influence to pressure the Chu family to agree to their marriage. They didn't give him an easy death, he was tortured first in their bid to squeeze out information from him. His corpse was brought back, all mangled up. And uncle Zhao… uncle Zhao."

The memory was so sad and painful that even Anthony didn't want to recall it. They had buried their fathers haphazardly in shallow graves, right in the courtyard, while Anthony held the invading army back. No proper burial, no coffin, no memorial tablet, nothing. Absolutely nothing. Their heroes were forced to be buried like dogs, unable to afford something decent.

Miao Miao began to breathe faster, gasping for air, like an asthmatic patient about to draw her last breath.

Anthony pulled her into his arm, hitting her back hard till she burst into tears, biting all over his neck, shoulders, and arms. He rolled with her on the ground, and she jumped on him, punching and slapping him. She screamed into the dark night, her voice strangled like that of a dying animal. Her tears began to fall uncontrollably, her cries loud and heartbreaking.

"My father, my papa, my papa. Ahhhh! I will never forgive you. Ahhh ahhh ahh ahh! Oh! Why me? Why do I have to witness all of them get killed in such a manner? Why? Why? What have I done wrong? Heaven tell me what I did!" Her shoulders were shaking, and her punches were getting feeble.

She collapsed weakly on Anthony and bit down hard on him, nearly severing the artery on his neck. He clenched his fists to hold back the scream of pain at the tip of his tongue, and overturned them, positioning her in such a way that they lay side by side, enabling him to pat her back slowly, whispering words of comfort.

"It's all my fault. Papa warned me about my habit of offering shelter to strangers. He warned me but I didn't listen. I made a terrible friend, now the whole village paid for it. Oh… ahhh. How can she kill them like that?"

Anthony sighed heavily, rubbing small circles on her back.

"I can assure you this, A'Jiu didn't poison the food. Nor did she know that their little hostile takeover plan would lead to such a tragedy. Chu Lan didn't tell her the details."

"How would you know?" Xinglan asked, her suspicion flaring. Her voice was broken and teary, showing how much she had been yearning to keep the emotions in check and be strong for her younger ones.

"I have been suspicious of Chu Lan ever since I heard the story. I thought he was deceiving her, and I secretly followed him, hoping to get evidence. He kept telling her that her patience was about to pay off and he would finally have the resources to protect her once he completed his mission. She kept asking him what the final plan was, but he kept waving around it. The only wrong she did was choosing love over friendship. Which is not wrong if you look at it from her perspective. After all, he abandoned his family for her sake. Although it's ruthless and evil, in the face of interest, selfishness wins out. Unless one has a mind strong enough to defeat them all."

"I…"

"You feel unreconciled, don't you? If you want me to get revenge for you, once I settle you three into a safe place, I will go back for them. If you desire so, I will kill them all, every last one of them. From Chu Lan, his accomplices, his subordinates, down to A'Jiu. I will kill everyone if you want." Anthony suddenly said, sending chills down their spine.

Miao Miao looked up at him as if she had found new hope, her eyes masked with pain and a thirst for vengeance.

"Are you certain? Will you truly do that for me?"

Anthony nodded, looking solemnly at her.

"Just say the word, I will drench the entire mountain and camps with blood."

Xinglan immediately panicked on hearing that.

"You guys have finally gone crazy. Do you know the consequences of mass murder? Not a raid but a mass killing carried out by one man. Even if you return victorious, you won't live long. A red card notice will be issued, top sects from all over the world will come after you, calling you a psychopath who has fallen into the demonic path of bloodlust. Your reason won't matter then. Slowly, but surely, you will find yourself in a fiery pit, an enemy the whole world aims to kill. You absolutely must not do that."

But Anthony didn't show any signs of wavering, making her despair.

"Chen Miao Miao, say something. Surely, you won't push him to hell in your bid to get revenge, right?" She whispered, her eyes filled with panic and distress. But Miao Miao's eyes remained dark, with only one visible thought—vengeance.